Fifty Years

With my brother

With Aunt Louise & younger sisters

Last weekend I realized that  Saturday, February 6, marked 50 years since I became a Christian.  That is a notable date to be remembered.  

I was eight years old - old enough to understand clearly that I was a sinner and that only Jesus, through his death and resurrection on the cross, could rescue me from hell.   I never doubted that Jesus saved my soul that night in the old Landersville church.

Granted, later in life I had to make another decision about whether this salvation decision was going to rule my life or not, and I have never regretted living my life openly for God.

That night saved my soul and sent ahead a reservation in heaven.  However, fifty years of being a Christian have provided many other rewards than just being "fire insurance."  Salvation at an early age also protected me from much riotous living and addictions that would have brought a lifetime of regrets.  It gave me guidance to spare me from some bad decisions.  It allowed me to have a fulfilling career of working with young people in Christian school settings.  And salvation at an early age gave me many great Christian friends from every era of my life.

I'm still a sinner, doing wrong things that need forgiveness and having to face the consequences of any sin.  But salvation at age eight was a protection for life as well as for eternity.  God's mercy and grace are boundless.